A new photo has been released of missing Marokopa father Tom Phillips as police continue to investigate multiple sightings of him in Waikato this week.
Phillips has been on the run with his three young children Jayda, Maverick and Ember for 19 months.
After multiple sightings of him in a bronze 2003 Toyota Hilux Ute this week, police said they were confident he could be found.
Insp Will Loughrin told AM Phillips is disguising his identity when he goes shopping for supplies.
"What you can see there is that's at Bunnings Te Rapa in Hamilton. That male, in that image, we believe is Tom Phillips," Loughrin said of the newly-released CCTV photo.
"The images we have of Tom, he's wearing a woolen beanie, a surgical mask, glasses and it appears to be a number of layers of clothing.
"He is trying to hide his identity," Loughrin added.
Phillips and his children first went missing in September 2021, sparking a major search and rescue operation. They emerged 17 days after they were reported missing, having been in the bush for all that time.
Tom was charged with wasteful deployment of police personnel and resources but failed to attend a scheduled court appearance in January last year. Tom and the children then went missing for a second time.
Other than Tom returning home for a night in February last year, he had not been seen since.
It's believed Tom was receiving support to enable him to stay hidden for such a long period of time, Loughrin said.
He urged anyone who might be supporting Tom to reach out to the police.
"We need to bring this to a close," Loughrin told AM.
He said multiple people were being spoken with in relation to the investigation.
While Loughrin wouldn't elaborate, "we are regularly talking to people" who know Tom, including associates and family members, he said.
"People are providing us with information regularly in terms of anything about Tom and the children."
Loughrin said the priority was getting the children home to their family.
"This is the best piece of information we've had for some time and that's why we immediately released this to the community, because we need their help to find Tom and the children.
"We need the community's eyes and ears to help us bring this to a close."
Anyone who sees Phillips, the ute or the children is being urged to immediately call 111.
